What is taking so long?
Hello. I am a 17 yr old female (just turned 17 in October). I noticed that my boobs started to come in when I was around 11, right around when my period started. They grew until I was about 12. They were still pretty small. And I'm embarrassed to say that they're still that size. I know that breast size has to do with genetics. The women on my mom's side generally have average or larger sized breasts. Same on my dad's side. My dad's mother had large breasts , despite her relatively small size.
I am pretty slender myself. But I know that slender women can have large breasts, such as my grandma. So it's hard for me to predict. But I was just wondering how long it'll take for mine to fully develop. (They don't look very developed.) And I wonder if they are even still developing because they do hurt from time to time. Even when I'm nowhere near my period. So how can I tell if they're finished or not? Or can they continue to develop in my late teens? And please don't give me a stupid answer.
I'd like to add that I don't really know of any "flat-chested" women on either side of my family. And my mom's mother also had larger breasts.
There was once a time where I stressed about this, even to the point where I felt like I was worth harm because nature and society has always, since the dawn of humanity, put such a huge importance on the size of sexual body parts. But then I realized that I don't HAVE to be a real "woman", I don't HAVE to be attractive, I don't HAVE to be approved by everyone I can just say " lol fk it who cares?", and I mean if you value being attractive and "normal" more than anything else then you could always go with faking it with clothing tricks or implants. But maybe you'll come to the point where that shit doesn't matter and you can just be like "Yeah I'm not typical, so what? At least I accept myself...not as a lesser female, just a different type."
And I mean if you're concerned health wise just go to a doctor I guess? But if everything else is going normally then it's probably nothing to worry about.
@Phthalo No offense but that didn't answer my question at all. My question was from a purely biological stand point and it had nothing to do with society or how I see myself or being a "real woman." But thanks anyway.
@generousSpruce3281
Hey! If you haven't already done research, I would do some into this, to see when you stop growing and such. As far as I am aware though, around 17 you would be mostly fully developed. Could you ask your doctor this maybe? They would know a lot more than the internet would, as they are trained in a medical field and therefore would be exposed to a lot more information that wouldn't just be what you could get off the internet, which may or may not be true. Good luck in this! Feel free to leave a reply if you want to ask any more questions or anything :P
It may just take you a bit longer. My best friends (shes 18 1/2 now) breasts started growing properly just about a year ago. Sometimes puberty works faster somtimes it works slower. Its perfectly normal.
You mentioned your 'chest' hurting from time to time. Experiencing Tenderness there, is a common sign that development is proceeding
To answer your question, there's no definitive way to tell if they've stopped developing however pain and tenderness can be a sign of continuing development. Generally breasts stop growing around the age of 18, but can continue grown into your 20s. Eating certain foods and doing certain exersizing is said to make them grow faster too.
@generousSpruce3281 - They definitely can continue to develop - I know many people whose breasts have continued to grow through their late teens as well as any time they gain weight. For some women, their breasts are relatively small until they are pregnant and then they grow quite a lot, so it could also be something like that in your family. Do you feel like you could ask your mom or any other relatives when they developed (or look at old family pictures if you're not comfortable asking)?
I'm in my early 20s and I know for me personally they grew in my last year of high school and then rapidly my first year of college. I know other girls who had similar experiences. Are you very active? I was a runner and swimmer in high school, and myself and quite a few of my fellow athletes didn't develop breasts until our late teens. I've had dancers tell me they had similar experiences.
There are a lot of factors that go into body type and size. But it's definitely possible that you will continue to develop over the next few years, and even beyond that (my grandma talks all the time about how she didn't have larger breasts until she had her first kid)!
